D a i ly D e v o t io n a l S tu d ie s in tk e islew T e s t a m e n t
m
By R. A. TORREY
HI
WEDNESDAY, Ja n . 1 .1 Thess. 2 :15 , 16 P au l now passes to a description of th e rep robate condition of th e Jewish nation w ith whom these persecutions of which he is w riting originated (cf. Acts 1 7 :5 ). P au l himself a t th e very tim e of w riting th is le tte r was again suffering persecution from th e Jews in Corinth (cf. Acts 18:5, 6, 12). It is a terrib le indictm ent again st them which P au l draws. (1 ) They “ killed th e Lord Jesu s.” In th e Greek “th e Lord” is very emphatic. It was not merely th a t they had killed a man, b u t th a t th e one whom they had killed was “th e Lord” from heaven (cf. Acts 3:14, 15; 2 :3 6 ). And a t th e door of every one who rejects Jesus today lies th e gu ilt of rejecting “ th e Lord” (cf. Acts 1 0 :36 ). (2 ) They “ killed th e prophets.” This was th e charge which Jesu s Himself drove home so often against the Jews when He was here on ea rth (Matt. 21: 33-41; 23:32-37; Luke 1 3 :3 3 ). If a Jew argues th a t Jesus could no t have been th e Messiah because He was rejected by th e Jews and slain, ask him if the Jews according to th e ir own acknow ledged Scriptures have not always rejected and killed th e ir pro phets and if th e ir own Scriptures do not proclaim th a t th e Messiah would be “ c u to ff” (cf. Dan. 9:25-27; Isa. 5 3 :8 ). (3 ) They “ drove us ou t (i. e., by perse c u tio n )” (cf. Luke 1 1 :4 9 ). (4) They “ please not God.” (5 ) They “ are con tra ry to all men.” It was by forbidding th em to preach the Gospel to men th a t they were “ con trary to all m en.” The man who hinders men from hearing the Gospel “ th a t they may he saved” is the g rea test of all enem ies to man. He is th e devil’s p artn er (cf. Luke 8 :1 2 ). By th u s hindering th e preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles they were filling up the full m easure of th e ir sins (v. 16; cf. Gn. 15 :16 ; Dan. 8 :23 ; Matt. 2 3 :3 2 ). This was th e la st measure added to th e ir cup of iniquity which had been filling up for centuries. Their cup was now full now “ th e w rath (of God) was (is) come upon them (rath er, h ad overtaken them ) to th e u tterm o st.” A lready when P au l w rote (A. D. 52 or 53) God’s judgm ent upon th e Jew,
which fully manifested itself in the destruction of Jeru salem in A. D. 70, had begun. As early as A. D. 48 th ere had been a rio t a t the Passover when th irty thousand were reported to be slain. THURSDAY, Ja n . 2. 1 Thess. 2 :17 , 18. P aul now tu rn s from the Jewish trea tm e n t of the Thessalonian believ ers and him self to his own love and longing for them . In th is we get a view of the affectionateness of P au l’s h eart and his tender yearning love toward his converts. He speaks of “being bereaved” of them . The word tran slated “ bereaved” comes from th e roo t from which we get our word orphan. He had been very suddenly driven from them (cf. Acts 17:7-10) and th is was a great grief to him, it was like being bereft of his children; for he loved them as his own children. He had been “b ere ft” of them “ only for a sho rt season” (lit erally, “ a season of an hou r” ), bu t he “ endeavored th e more exceedingly to see” th e ir “ face (again) w ith g reat desire.” He longed to get back to Thess- alonica. H is h ea rt was still there. He was b ereft (separated from them ) “ in presence (literally, face), not in h e a rt.” It was not of his own choice th a t he had no t retu rn ed to them before this. He “would fain have come un to ” them “ once and again ” even before this. He probably intended to re tu rn th e re from Beroea bu t from th a t place he had been driven out by th e Jews from Thessalon- ica, and so, of course, it was impossible for him to re tu rn from Beroea (cf. Acts 17:13, 14). In v. 18 P aul tu rn s from th e usual “we” to “ I P au l,” because it was he who was especially desirous of re tu rn in g and he who was especially hindered. In point of fact Timothy did re tu rn (ch. 3:1, 2 ). P a u l’s explanation of his failu re to re tu rn to Thessalonica was th a t “S atan hind ered” him. This shows th a t Satan may hinder a serv an t of God in his work, b u t only good came of it. To th e fact th a t Satan hindered him we owe this precious epistle. The church of all ages has profited from th is hindering work
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